The Golden Watch
by Huntress4455
Summary: He's a bloodthirsty pirate, scavenging the lands in search for his revenge. She's the heir to the throne, a princess who's spirit and good-nature cannot be kept within a castle. Captain Swan, AU.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: My first Captain Swan fanfic! Hope guys enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Watch**

The night was silent, pitch black as a bottle of ink. Trees and hills were still and silent, the hubbub of nocturnal creatures filling the cold air of the forest. A dark ship loomed in the stillness of the ocean, approaching the port as slowly as a snail's pace. The guard at the bridge stood , awaiting the trade of materials that would come their way.

The Jolly Roger slowly pulled into deck as a man of the crew jumped off board to tie the rope to steady the ship. A portly merchant slowly walked forward, feet clicking onto the dock's wooden surface, approaching the ship.

The captain looked up at the starry night. feeling the breeze of the night on his face. He'd spent hours below deck, figuring out the right maneuver to initiate when he came upon the kingdom. A full moon shone below him as he walked down to the merchant.

"Beautiful night, eh, captain?"

"I should say so," Killian Jones replied, his eyes focusing on the merchant.

"You wished for the...object, Killian?"

The captain resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Not a single soul was in sight, yet the secrecy this man was still portraying with the object of their trade was particularly foolish and unnecessary. Despite this, he nodded and grinned maliciously.

"Indeed I do. Where is it?"

"Hidden in the forest, unfortunately. It would arouse suspicion if I concealed it-"

"Never mind that," Killian pushed off. "Just take me to where it is."

The merchant nodded, "As you wish, sir."

* * *

An owl hooted somewhere off into the distance as the merchant and the pirate trudged forward. Killian inwardly groaned as the pudgy man huffed and puffed as he navigated his way towards the forest. He wished for this to take no more than five mere minutes, yet this quest was shaping to drag on for another hour.

"Here it is, captain!"

Killian sighed and walked towards the direction of the merchant, boots crunching in the dirt of the forest. His hand tightly clutched on the hilt of his sword as he approached the small pit the merchant was standing over. He bent down with a heave and began digging with his hands to retrieve the object Killian had came for.

The silence of the night was suddenly broken. Killian couldn't quite place his finger upon it, but an odd sensation came over him. Another person was approaching him, he was sure. He turned around and his heart thudded.

A horse bolted towards him at the speed of light and it was only by jumping aside swiftly that he was able to prevent getting crushed under two pairs of hooves.

Panting heavily, the pirate stood and dusted himself off, squinting off into the distance. The horse charged forward in the same direction; the rider seemed oblivious to the fact that it had nearly murdered an innocent being.

The merchant turned and chuckled, wiping the dirt off of his hands. "I see the princess is off on her nightly ride again."

The pirate's brow furrowed in confusion, "Princess?"

"Yes, the Swan princess. Heir to the throne of this land."

"What's her name?" Killian asked.

"Emma."

The pirate glanced off into the distance, but the only thing he could spot was a cloud of dust along the path the horse was thundering after. The hooves that had narrowly avoided him could still be seen.

"And here it is, sir."

Killian turned, looking at the object in the merchant's palm. It was a watch of pure gold, a chain protruding off its side. It gleamed in the shafts of the moonlight that managed to penetrate the dark canopies of the forest's trees. In the hands of the merchant, its dull, grimy look made it somewhat unattractive, yet Killian didn't judge it by that.

It was a powerful weapon.

"A bit dusty, I might say. But I suppose it doesn't matter; its value is worth more than anything in our vicinity."

Killian licked his lips hungrily, staring at the watch in the merchant's hand. His eyes narrowed as his hand on the hilt of his sword tightened further, prepared to unsheathe it at a moment's notice.

"So, our deal was five hundred doubloons, sir."

The pirate stared off into the distance, contemplating on how to carry out the next stage of his plan. He could simply decapitate him or drive his blade straight through his heart. Or perhaps by a swift blow to the head, he could render him unconscious.

Killian frowned; that would be much too conspicuous. He had to eradicate his existence from the face of this kingdom; no other method would play in his favor.

"Sir?"

The captain turned his head to find a baffled expression on the merchant's face. Slowly, the pirate began to choose his words carefully.

"I would like to propose another deal...how about the chance to visit another land?"

Immediately, Killian could see the look of pure joy spreading over his face. He expected it; many merchants of this land hardly spent time outside of their village and yearned to explore what the world consisted of.

"Yes, indeed, sir. Is there a mode of transportation; perhaps a magic bean?"

His gullible nature and imaginative expression made Killian feel a pang of guilt upon the notion of what he was about to do.

"Of course; just close your eyes for a moment and hold out your hands," Killian whispered, as though speaking to a child. The foolish man's eyes shut close as he grinned widely, his hands outstretched.

A sharp sound of metallic screeching filled the silent air as Killian relieved the weapon from its scabbard and sliced the head of the fool with one swift move. Blood coated the blade as it looked as though his eyes were about to open from the pain it felt, then refused to.

The pirate marveled the accuracy of his sword; it certainly did wonders with its sharp tenacity. Kicking the man's head out of his direction, he bent down and uncovered the watch from his hand, taking it as his own.

"I'm sorry, old man. But dead men tell no tales."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," a voice rang out of the silent night.

The pirate whirled around, only to find a massive stead before him with an encloaked rider upon its back. His hood was drawn to its utmost extent, yet a defiant air of courage revolved around him. The pirate could sense that as he dismounted slowly and drew his own sword from its leather scabbard.

When he pushed his hood back, Killian forced down a cry of surprise that threatened to escape his throat. It wasn't a man, but a young lady. Golden locks of hair as radiant as sunlight tumbled down her shoulders as her hazel eyes shone in the moonlight. She needed no further introduction, for the pirate already knew who she was.

Princess Emma Swan.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks so much for all your feedback and support; I really appreciate it! Also, sorry for not updating in over a month; schoolwork's been bombarded at us so much...well, here's a long chapter to tide you all over. I promise to update much more quicker than last time. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT or any of its magnificent characters.**

**Chapter 2**

The princess of the kingdom stood there, keeping a close eye on the man who had just murdered the land's most wealthy merchant. Her green eyes were cold, calculating as she stared into the pirate's deep blue ones, fixing upon the murderous expression that was slowly dwindling down as he frowned, looking at her.

"Who are…"

The pirate didn't get a chance to finish his statement as a staff connected with his temple and immediately forced him to lose consciousness. The sudden sensation of falling down a dark hole came over him as he collapsed with forceful impact.

Emma dismounted from her steed, throwing her father's staff to the ground and withdrawing her sword from her scabbard, as silently as possible. Approaching the being before her with the utmost caution, her blade rested upon the apple of his throat for many seconds, before she pulled it away. The ice cold temperature of the blade was enough to awaken people at a shallow level of unconsciousness and he was evidently knocked out cold.

Sighing inwardly in relief, she squatted and was about to search his pockets when a shaft of moonlight above her illuminated a position to his side. The princess focused her attention upon that area, realizing that something lay in his land. Prying it out of his grasp, Emma examined it.

It looked to be a pocket watch. Shining and quite heavy, possibly made out of pure gold. Why else would the pirate have met the merchant out in the middle of the night in the deepest portion of the Dark Forest?

A twig cracked somewhere in the distance. Emma stared, unbelieving, until she realized it was a small, omnivorous creature roaming the woods in search of food. Shaking her head in disbelief, her focus turned back to the watch until a hand grasped her wrist and made her drop it in shock.

"That...that's mine, love."

Emma kept in the gasp that was threatening to escape her throat. By the limited light of the moon above, she could only make out a deep feral noise threatening to escape the man's throat. He looked deranged, mad, a lunatic even. Those blue eyes sparked furiously as he grasped the watch in his hands as though it was the only true being on this Earth.

Carefully, his eyes still on her, he pocketed the watch and narrowed his eyes at her. The sword that hung at his belt was hidden from view until he released it and pointed it directly above her heart.

"Now tell me, love...what would a gorgeous princess like you be doing in a dark forest at this time of night?"

The heart beneath Emma's chest began thumping rapidly as she kept her eyes fiercely upon the shining blade that had the potential to eradicate her existence at any moment. In a flash, the sword could slash through her heart and spill blood that would stain the shining, wet grass beneath their feet.

"None of your business….pirate," she whispered through clenched teeth, eyes locking onto his translucent blue ones.

She couldn't read his expression; it seemed to be a mixture of anger and savagery. Yet under all that, she could still sense a fear of being bested by another.

After many agonizing moments, he lowered the sword and sheathed it, keeping a fierce eye upon her. He stepped forward, placing a hand underneath her chin, examining every feature upon her face. The princess forced herself to not display any emotion whatsoever, despite a deep urge to pull away from his touch.

"You're a pretty lass," he whispered softly, his hand kinder than she anticipated, tracing the outline of her lips. "I'll make an offer with you. If you keep this secret privy to no soul you ever meet, I won't track you down and kill you. Is that a deal?"

The tone of his voice took a harsh turn as he pulled his hand abruptly away from her; Emma had kept silent the entire time, scrutinizing the expression he possessed. Never before had she experienced a scenario such as this, yet there was only one actual solution from all this.

"Yes."

Her voice came out in a quavery whisper, giving into his intended desire.

"That's a good girl," he murmured, the hand coming up to stroke the blond hair upon her head. The look he gave her was quite frightening, yet underneath it, somewhat endearing. Emma had yet to feel a man's touch upon her and this was a different situation to her. She kept herself as stoic as possible as he turned away and whispered into her ear.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'll be taking your horse."

That was the catalyst Emma needed. Drawing a sword from a sheath upon the stead that had been concealed from his view, she swung it at him, only to have the pirate counter it with his own blade. Her expression displayed fierce anger and what she hoped to be courage, yet inside, she was trembling with fear. Aside from her father, she had never fought with someone before.

"So that's how you wish to play then, eh?" the pirate grinned, lunging at her with surprising speed. Emma parried it and breathlessly thrusted a devastating blow upon his stomach.

The result wasn't as she anticipated. He immediately crumpled to the ground, groaning as he grasped the area where the pain originated from. He looked back up to her from the ground with shining cerulean eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness.

"Go ahead, finish me."

Emma pointed her blade, "Enough, pirate. Don't play games with me. Either get out of my sight or I'll personally hand you over to my father's forces."

It was the longest amount of words that had came out of her mouth ever since the pirate's arrival. It felt odd to speak to him with such length, yet somewhat...satisfying.

Killian stood up, his hand sheathing the blade at his side. His other hand came into view and Emma had to stifle a gasp that threatened to escape her mouth. The area in which his left hand should have been present, a metallic hook shone out of the darkness. It looked to be very heavy in weight and completely bereft of mercy, yet it held a sense of sadness towards it. Probably because he lacked a hand on his body.

The pirate grinned, checking his pocket to make sure that the watch still resided there, "Have it your way then...Emma."

The last syllable of his phrase caused a deep shiver down the princess's backside as she watched him hike down the hill of the forest, grasping the hilt of his sword as his blue eyes kept scanning the area.

Emma let out a sigh of relief. The Ogres in the wars had been easier to fight than him.

* * *

"Emma, we've told you; the forests aren't to be hunted at that time of night. You could get injured or even die."

Snow White's reprimands couldn't put a damper upon Emma's spirits. Her father finally was allowing her to accompany them on their afternoon hunt and the princess scarfed down her morning meal to get in more archery practice before noon.

"Emma, did you hear me?"

Her mother's surprisingly harsh tone disrupted her train of thought. Emma looked up to find her mother frowning in her direction, her dark hair plaited into a braid that hung down her left shoulder. Even though the princess would have usually done nothing more than argue with her upon this matter once more, she figured it would only bite out valuable time where she could be slicing arrows through a target.

"Of course, mother. I won't do that again."

Swallowing the last bit of toast upon her plate, Emma stood up and nearly ran to the door, only to have Snow stop her once more.

"Emma, I actually have something very important to discuss with you. Can you please sit back down?"

The diplomatic sound her voice harbored only displayed to Emma that it wasn't anything that would benefit her. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes and make a show out of it, she walked back to her seat and stared at the platter of toast that was left untouched; she was hungry from last night's events.

"Will it take long?" Emma countered, taking a piece of toast off the platter.

"Hopefully not, let's wait until your father-"

No sooner than she had mentioned his name, the doors opened and Charming walked in, decked in his hunting gear. Emma inwardly sighed in relief; whatever her mother had to say, it wouldn't be as terrible if her father took a hand into it.

"So what were you two talking about?" he said cheerfully, ladling his plate with copious amounts of food.

Snow wrinkled her nose in disgust at her husband's eating habits, yet Emma knew it was a playful gesture. She resisted the urge to laugh, but the subject that came up was far from hilarious.

"I was about to speak to Emma about that thing we were talking over last night."

Charming froze in his attempt to spoon in a large amount of poached egg into his mouth and stared at his wife; for a moment, he seemed to be considering to say something and then decided against it. He turned to Emma.

"Can you...excuse your mother and I for a moment? We need to talk about something privately."

The princess was slowly beginning to recall bits of conversation from her parents when she had passed their room in her venture out into the forest last night. Her pulse quickened, gaining a shrewd assumption as to what the "important matter" was.

"Are you marrying me off to someone?"

Charming choked in his attempt to gulp down orange juice from his goblet. Clearing his throat to relieve himself, he ignored the frown Snow was giving him and explained to his daughter.

"No, it's...it's more or less that, actually."

"Well, you can tell them they can find another princess to marry off to whomever it is. I don't agree."

She made to stand up and exit the room by the most quietest manner she could muster, yet Snow White stood up before she had a chance.

"Emma, come back here."

The princess debated on whether or not to concede with her mother's demand, yet she figured it would only lead to dull, repetitive conversation pertaining to the duty of one for their kingdom and parents. Emma strided to the door and looked back at her parents.

"I gave you two my answer. There's no way I'd do that. I'd rather fight in the Ogre Wars again then get married off to some stranger. That's my final word on the matter."

* * *

The tree shook on impact as Emma shot another arrow upon the marked target that reached a surprisingly tall height. Her hazel eyes calculated the distance between her and the enemy before her, setting her feet in the right position that would propel the travel of the arrow into a smooth journey towards the tree. She pulled back the arrow to her chin, feeling the tickle of the feathers upon it.

Before she could release the hold on the string, both the bow and arrow flew out of her hand without notice. The rough feathers scratched Emma's cheek abruptly, forming a shallow cut. Turning around, she saw a tall blond man clad in dark armor from head to toe. A helmet with feathers as dark as the night covered his head, showing off the pale color of his face.

"Nice weapon."

Emma knew of this sorcery that he wielded. Before the Ogre Wars that she had participated in (against her parent's permission), she recalled a battle Snow and Charming fought against a sorceress feared throughout the land, known as the Evil Queen. Even recalling the name forced a cold shiver down her backside as she remembered all the crimes she had committed in her quest for power. Her vanquish when she was only ten still caused her nightmares up until today.

"Who are you?" Emma demanded, unsheathing a dagger from her belt.

No sooner than the tip of the blade had been released, the weapon flew out of her hand and to the individual's before her.

"Much more attractive than the one I have," he commented, examining the rubied hilt with a type of pleasure that the princess found frightening

Emma was just about ready to try her chances at close combat when she suddenly found herself against a tree, being suffocated by the dark armored man.

"You see, I'm an ally of your parent's enemies….which makes you my enemy," he whispered into her ear as Emma gasped for air. "And my mistress told me that I would be rewarded greatly if I were to give her your heart. I can't fail her."

The princess struggled against his tight hold, but it was pointless. Sorcery was definitely at work here; she might even die before the dagger even entered her chest, with necessary oxygen becoming deprived from her body.

"You're a pretty one, I'll say," he muttered, touching the fair, golden locks of hair that fell down her shoulders. "But I have to do this."

The plunge of the dagger into her chest was one of the most painful things the princess had ever felt, even though the cut was rather shallow. Looking down at her chest, she could already see crimson blood soaking the white tunic that she was wearing. It suddenly dawned on her that she was slowly crossing into death without even a fight; the formulation of an escape plan slowly came into her mind, but the sudden yell of a man stopped her.

"Oi!"

The voice startled her as the armored man made to plunge the dagger into her chest once more. Turning around, he found a dark-haired, blue-eyed man standing before him, a vicious sword in his hand. He never even managed to get a word out as the magnificent sword that he was eyeing plunged itself into his armored chest without the blink of an eye.

Emma watched the event occur as the sword-wielding man before her turned into her view. She suppressed a gasp of relief as she recognized the hook on his left hand and the clear blue eyes that she had come to deem as handsome.

It was the pirate.

**A/N: How about last night's episode, huh? **


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